Puh-rah-grez

It's official! I can tell ya now. Something, I repeat, something, has been accomplished to eliminate miniscule portions of the Disaster of 2008.

Last night we both got high on the fumes from the stain for the cabinets. Blah. But... on the plus side, the cabinets are now painted a nice dark walnut shade. On the negative side, the sink and counter no longer match. But do I care, one might ask? Nope. Not right now. Because this now means that the floor and the toilet can be replaced.

Okay, collectively, let's all just say, "a-WOO HOOOOO!"

We are one teensy step further with about a million and a half steps left in a house that just reeks, literally. It's really quite lovely, you should come over, EXCEPT you can't because I'm horribly embarrassed that you can't get past the front door without tripping on 2 rolls of linoleum.

Why 2? Well, Dust went shopping without me and thought I wanted something that I didn't (a little throw up appeared in my throat when I saw the coloring--oh I kid, it wasn't that bad, just not right) so I dragged him to another place to get the "right stuff". Oh yeah, we do not take
linoleum lightly. High quality stuff we got there. Our bathroom is small enough that we only needed a scrap that was left over. :( That almost makes me cry.

Sheesh, I'm loopy, throwing up, and crying; makes for a great story someday that is YEARS away from being remotely funny.

Refund, da nuh nuh

Dusty just edited a cheerleading video for his cousin, so I, like, have a ton of cheers in my head, ohhhhhhh-kayyyyy? (clap, clap, clap, jump, pump arm in air)

After a mad rush to file our taxes yesterday (had to be postmarked 03/17) for Kamo Products, we sent them out today. Blah.  However, with all of the deductions for Kamo, it means that with our personal taxes we get a big ole whopping refund.  Suh-weet!

I mean, I called Dust right away and told him the big news. We were excited!  He even told me I could spend it all.  I really don't know how I will be able to find a place just to blow that money.  I really almost feel guilty.  Almost.

Ummmm, did I mention it's $35.  Yup, thirty-five whole dollars.

I'll be buying a bag o' lollipops.

Woo hoo!!!

Okay 2 noteworthy items on my agenda to forward on to my loyal blogger companions, all 2 of you.

First, the bathroom has now (finally) been painted! The outlets, light switches, and new light will be up by Wednesday. Things are a-movin' along quite nicely, if I do say so myself. I patted myself twice on the back for that and ate a whole pan of brownies. Well, not really, but that sounds REALLY good!

Second, Victizzle has finally begun her own blog. And since she is my favorite barista, I will give you her link ... uh, five times, okay six.

Good things all around the sphere of excitement that just spins round and round in my head all day long and never quits. This is why I get nothing done.

Welcome to my world.

Procrastinating yet again...

The second coat of paint that needs to be applied to the 4 walls in our bathroom is screaming at me to "just do it". But instead, I have chosen to apply my other skills and watch a movie. Which I did. Twice. And now I'm feeling kinda guilty.

So alas, there's nothing else I can really do except paint. Off I go to get in my grubby painting clothes and re-emerge in a couple hours thoroughly tan... did I mention the paint was a light brown? It's nearly the exact same as laying out for an entire afternoon. But not quite. At all.

Okay, well I'm headed out now, so I better stop writing and just go finish it. However, I could do the dishes, and there is some laundry that is also calling my name. Not to mention I haven't dusted in like, a bajillion and a half years.

But really, the only reason our house is the way it is has got to be blamed on the bathroom. Because otherwise it would be my fault and I just don't roll that way.

Oh Me, oh My, it's MEME time

Alrighty then. This is my first ever game of freeze tag in the blogging world. Oh, I kid. But I was tagged, with what those lovely folks call a Meme. I'm not entirely sure what in the world that actually is, but I was chosen! Me! Ohhhh, I'm soooo happy (honestly, you'd have had to watch Robin Hood Men in Tights to understand how I actually just said that phrase... out loud even).

Here are the rules:

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning. (That would be right here, this is the beginning, and this is also the first rule apparently.)

B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog. (Okay, well we'll see if I even know 5 people that blog....)

What I was doing 10 years ago:

Well goodness. 10 years ago, I was just a babe. Literally, I was what you call an athletic babe, if there ever was such a thing; and also a freshman in high school. I could often be found (gasp, dare I say it) making fun of cheerleaders (sorry Manda).

5 Things on my To Do List today:

1. Go to work. Boo.

2. Work out (didn't happen, my calf muscles are still sore from soccer 2 nights ago).

3. Repaint the bathroom (didn't happen, just didn't feel like it... I'm very motivated, can't you tell?)

4. Kiss my husband (oh, you betcha buns I did that one--more than once even!)

5. Pet Jericho (yup, 3 out of 5, and that ain't bad.)

Snacks I Enjoy:

Is there a limit to how many I can add?? In the interest of sparing your valuable time, here is a VERY short list: drip coffee with lots 'o creamer, kettle corn popcorn, brownies with ice cream, crackers and cheese, and chocolate chip cookie dough.

Things I would do if I were a Billionaire:

If I were a billionaire, huh? Well, I'd be mortgage free, that's for sure. Then go to Thailand. Why Thailand?? Because they have nice beaches and little bungaloes that I would like to stay in. I would then move to Hawaii for a year and hone my surfing skills while toning my body. Then I'd buy another house and adopt 5 kids from foster care and 5 kids from Ghana. Oh, and I would find a cure for tears... because if I had dry eyes for even one full day of my life, that would be AMAZING!

3 of my Bad Habits:

I'd say I don't have any, but all you'd have to do is ask my husband (which, by the way, he is currently rolling lists off his tongue left and right as I just asked him... how sad.)

1. Apparently, leaving 50 bajillion water bottles around the house doesn't appeal to his sense of cleanliness.

2. Nor does coffee mugs... with coffee left in them.

3. And I'd have to say owning a cell phone but never using it because "I just don't like phones".

5 places I have lived:

1. An apartment with 2 friends

2. Another apartment by myself (because roomates, yeah, never again)

3. My parent's house (for 6 days until I couldn't take it anymore and had to move out)

4. Then another apartment (which was more like a hole in the wall and about the same size)

5. Our current house (which is a disaster).

5 Jobs I have had:

1. A Berry Picker (fun days in the hot sun all sticky and sweaty)

2. A chef at a local pizzeria (or, ya know, a peon at the local Little Caesars)

3. Receptionist/Legal Secretary

4. Litigation Legal Secretary

5. Professional Paintballer (just kidding, I never actually made any money but I'm keeping it on here because it makes me smile)

And that was it. You just learned some fascinating information about me. Count your blessings because I do not share that willingly in what I would like to refer to as my "real life".

And now who are the lucky culprits?
1. We are THAT Family (okay, okay, so I did see she was already tagged, but this is MY game now, okay? And since I laugh every time I read her blog, I couldn't not tag her.)
2. BigMama (Chances of her actually participating are slim to none as she may be thee most famous blogger I know, wow, I'm sweating in anticipation just hoping my new BFF blogging celebrity will play along with my weird little game.)
3. Tara (go for it, I'm counting on you! A whoo hoo!)
4. Dana (here's another thing you can commit to, but at least it's only a one-time deal!)
5. Shelly (come onnnnnn, blog with me fellow Bible studier!)

Well, I'm sending up a teeeeny prayer that maybe one of them will pull through for me! :)

I dream of JEAN-eeeeeee

I really do dream of a perfect jean.  And... it could be said that the only way for me to attain said perfect jean, is to hire an actual genie.  But we'll see.

My sister forwarded me on to Fred Meyer to find a pair that she found fits her well.  It's made by Tyte, and the name alone makes me REALLY question if there is anything good that can come from this company, especially for human women with curves.  I truly, truly doubt it.  Worse??  The actual style is called Duplex.  Tyte Duplex.  Why would you ever name pants that?!  Because anything that fits over your "duplex" is gonna be "tyte"?  Yeah, pretty much.

But she just called me again with more names.  Ooooo, hold your breath for these!

Just kidding, these actually rectify my hope in jean clothing companies.  This new one is Laguna Beach.  Wow.  Ummm, I'll buy them solely because they remind me of Hawaii (and yes, I do know LB isn't actually in Hawaii **cough**cough** after I googled it to make sure...)!

The other one, (insert drum roll) is My Favorite Trouser.  OHHH-riginal!  I must say.  However, it holds no candle to the Double Dupes.

It seems the trouser jean has really taken off as a popular style.  I always read about them on boomama and bigmama's sites.  Not to mention the fact that What Not To Wear always gives a shout out to them because it flatters all.  As in everyone, as in all body types, all shapes and sizes.  Now THIS is a jean I could work with!

So, in case any of you were wondering, that was my latest way of hinting that if you could sign me up for that show, that would be fabulous.

And here's that link, because I am just that subtle.  (If you need any more clues for why I really should be nominated, just ask!)

Bathroom update

Can I call it an update if technically nothing has really been updated? Yeah, still standing still over here in the home improvement arena. House projects for 2 people who get all gung-ho about starting projects and lose steam after, oh, I dunno, one day....

Puh-lease for anyone who is considering a financial investment in a house, just buy a brand new house or you will fall into the deep, dark pit that has swallowed us whole.

Hopefully tonight we'll be able to recaulk the shower so at least it's useable... because having to go to your parent's house to take a shower, it just isn't fun. Especially when you play soccer late at night. It makes for very late nights and even more procrastinating.

Although, it has now been painted a nice chocolate brown color. Aside from the fact that it is now the exact same color as our living room, it now awaits its first coat of the RIGHT COLOR! Yeah, I am fading fast with redoing things.

After the bathroom, we'll be redoing ALL of our carpet with wood floors, throughout the entire house! So, at least I have a good 3 months until our entire house is unusable! It'll be just peachy.

Have you ever?

Alrighty, here's a new one.

Have you ever woken up on a Saturday at 7:30, went and grabbed your breakfast (granola and coffee) to take to bed and watch a movie... only to wake up at noon with a headache because you fell asleep before your morning cup-o-joe... and then eat lunch and start blogging only to realize it's now 1:15 and you haven't accomplished anything??

Well, I have.

And now I probably better get my butt in gear since Dust is out there working overtime so I can go buy new jeans and feast on sushi tonight!

Purses with pazazz

So here I am on my day off looking at Target.com for their clearance items (because let's face it, I am dutch, so "sale" just doesn't cut it for me, it HAS to be clearance) and I run across the hangbags.

And in my all out desire to imagine I could pull this off, I look at this one, which would just pop any outfit from blah to fun-kay. I love, love, love the price that's attached to it as well. I keep looking and I come to purses that are $9.99; while I didn't like any of the selection available, the fact still remains that in my head I said, "Oh, I would NOT pay 10 bucks for a purse, goodness."

When, in fact, I paid nearly 6 times that much for my current (cough cough, white, cough cough) purse (make sure you click on the WHITE one, just to really understand the goodness of color that it is because the brown one doesn't cut it). And with my overpriced purchase, I now have room in my purse to hold, well, a whole other purse because it is just that big.

We just went to Hawaii and I had that as my carry-on. Oh, I do kid. Although large enough to hold everything I could ever possibly need or want on an airplane, I utilized availability and took a camo backpack as well that was overladen with precious electronics that no one should go without... especially when you are flying over an ocean, you need to keep busy people. But since I don't understand the concept of downsizing, my purse was pretty heavy so a big thank you to Dusty for carrying his bag, my bag, and his Dad's laptop, and I think he was dragging other carryons as well for his Grandma.

Ahhh, to have a selfless husband (and a bag that's so large it causes your shoulder to actually ache)!

My toes will be the death of me yet

The Disaster of 2008, errr "remodel", is still a reigning dictatorship in our home. The brigade of forces has now overtaken us completely and we have had to succumb to the ugly corruption of messiness.

Or, that's just my latest excuse for our house not being (oh what do you call it) tidy.

My freshly painted workout room is now the temporary, proud home of ALL our bathroom supplies. So in the interest of working out, I felt I needed to do some weight lifting. And at this point for sanity's sake, all that actually entails is moving my treadmill so as to fit the newly acquired items that are rooming with it.

And move it I did, and set it down I did, on my foot, yes I did, and hurt, OHHHHH yes it did. It really wouldn't have even been that bad except that a couple hours earlier Jericho thought it would be funny to paw at a ball that was next to my bare foot only to realize that his depth perception and excitement do NOT go hand in hand. Instead paw on foot equals scratches and soreness, and not Mama wants to play. (Oh humble me now, yes, I do realize I have become that person who refers to their pet as a child.)

Bloody scratches from an over-exuberant puppy (okayyyyy, in the interest of encouraging a wee bit of sympathy, I may have added "bloody" where it didn't belong) and a 200 pound machine (and fiiiiiiine, it may not weigh 200 pounds--130 minimum though or like 40, shhhh) that's intended for your foot to actually walk upon and not for the machine itself to rest upon just doesn't make for a good combo. Especially when there's no one in the house to even complain to. Sigh.

The worst part may have been that I did see it coming. And because my reflexes are as quick as a cat I decided the best course of action would be to not react to my brain telling me that once I let go, the treadmill had a 93.24% chance of landing on my foot.

Let's just say I went with that remaining 6.76%.

Have you ever?

Okay, so new thing I'm starting are my "Have you ever" blogs. They will just be short little blurbs. If you like, leave a post about one of your "have you evers". :)

So... to end the undying frustration of those who really just want to read all about my little blurb that will delve deep into my fascinating life just so you can get to know a new piece that is my puzzle....

Have you ever wanted to drive your car inside your house so that you:
a. do not have to go fishing for cds to transport between car and house.
b. can listen to your awesome sound system (which is the embodiment of a high school boys' pimped out, raised truck).
c. can have surround sound without the purchase of MORE speakers?
d. can really test the sturdiness of our house's foundation.

Orrrr, is it just me??

One house, one bathroom, one husband who can't shower

Whoops. So maybe my planning wasn't ideal. My lofty aspirations to just paint my bathroom whirlwinded down to the Disaster of 2008. It struck our house on Friday night and just tore it apart. Let me just say that no simple painting job can ever be accomplished when you buy an older house.

Oh my word, our shower panels are falling off because the caulking has molded... umm, do you see that there are linoleum tiles in our bathroom-I didn't even know they made those... we need a non-rusted mirror and light fixture... we might as well sand and paint the cabinets to really make them look sharp. Etc., etc., etc.

The calamity that is our bathroom is as follows.



The saddest part? That isn't even the worst part. Now, there is hardly a tool in there, no shower curtain, no nothing. Except spackle. Cause I love me a good spackle. And before you say I may have gone spackle-crazy, you had NOT seen the walls before. Divits, cracks, and lines, oh my!

If you were wondering, yes I did choose that paint color. Why?? I do not know, call me a crazy newlywed who thought it would be "fun" to have a bathroom that blinds you with color.

But, needless to say, it is now Monday and this project is still not near completion. Dust came home today and was thoroughly bummed that after working in the rain all day he couldn't even take a shower because WE HAVE ONE BATHROOM, PEOPLE! It is not fun.

My goal to paint my bathroom last Saturday was never achieved, but my sister and I did paint this weekend. My workout room is now in some stage of completion. I'll hold off on pictures until you may congratulate me for a job well done.

In other words, next year I may have those pictures.

Embarassed beyond belief

So I am all for a simple, white Christmas... anything else is atrocious. Seriously.

And speaking of atrocities, during the 2nd to last weekend in January, I drove by a house and (please forgive me) said "Oh my, it's almost February, puh-lease just take down your CHRISTMAS lights people! It's getting a little ridiculous. The season has ended."

I keep driving and pull up into our driveway and I. Just. Hang. My. Head. Oh how sad, our Christmas lights were still up. I coulda cried.

I think I might have.

But, on the plus side, we did have a housesitter come to our house while we were in Hawaii and he had never been to our house. Since most people pass right by our road before they realize it, we were like, "Hey, we'll turn on our Christmas lights and that's our house."

His response, "You still have your lights up?"

From a male. That phrase came from a man.

Mortification from my own Christmas embarassment, how sad.